1. Technical Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and process for the administration of insulin to the human body, particularly the discontinuous administration of insulin, which includes dosing means for metering, or a display to indicate, the optimum quantity of insulin.
2. Description the Prior Art
It is generally known in diabetes (diabetes mellitus) that the hormone of the pancreas, i.e., insulin, is either not produced at all or is not produced in a sufficient quantity. If insulin is not available to the body in a sufficient quantity, sugar ingested by the patient with food is not broken down or burned off by the patient's body. In such persons, the sugar concentration in the blood of the person rises and the excess blood sugar is excreted in the person's urine.
As a form of therapy, the diabetic is treated with insulin, either continuously by infusion or discontinuously by injection. In doing so, care is taken to administer the precise amount of insulin lacking in the person's blood. This is carried out by testing and monitoring the patient's blood sugar level. Too small a dose of insulin is just as undesirable as too high an administered quantity, which can lead to dangerous symptoms including, for example, "insulin shock."
The procedure followed, in practice, is to administer to the patient, a certain dose of insulin, which is subsequently changed in dosage on the basis of subsequent reactions, particularly the deviation of the blood sugar level from the reference value, which is carried out by estimation, and is therefore very inexact. In another method known to the art, the optimum dosage of insulin is first determined, with the corresponding quantity thereafter being administered daily. Both methods of dosing produce very inaccurate results because, in the first method described, the determined quantity is inherently inaccurate, while in the latter procedure, the optimum dosage of a patient, usually varies over time and often varies considerably from that originally determined. An additional disadvantageous factor in these methods is that the required quantity of insulin is subject to different, and therefore unpredictable, fluctuations from patient to patient.
Among the prior art known to the inventor, France Patent Application No. 2,387,669, discloses an apparatus, with the aid of which, the blood-sugar value is continuously measured, as well as the optimum quantity to be injected, which is established through comparison with the actual value of the blood-sugar. The proper injection is then immediately given to the patient. With this procedure, one is able to adjust continuously and immediately to the actual values of the patient's condition. The decisive disadvantage of a continuous monitoring procedure, unlike the present invention, is the necessity for stationary institutionalization which robs the patient of the opportunity to lead a normal life.